A pupil in Paris of Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) and briefly Gros, he returned to Switzerland in 1816 to practise chiefly as a portrait painter. In 1818 he went to Italy where, apart from a brief visit to Paris in 1831, he remained for the rest of his life.

His paintings of contemporary Italian scenes achieved considerable success at the Paris Salon, and his pictures of brigands were sought after by wealthy collectors. He suffered, however, from depression and his death was due to suicide.